A Death in the Family
by RebelMK94
Summary: Tragedy strikes Dalmatian Street. In the aftermath, Dolly must find a way to move on as Dylan leads an investigation with help from an unlikely sidekick, Diesel.
1. Chapter 1

Dolly was outside with her brothers, the Dimitrio, as they played with a ball in front of their house. Dolly skated around practicing her moves as she would normally do, the other pups inside doing different activities.

The Dimitrio had wanted to be outside and Dolly decided to be with them. She knew the three were careful not to get on the road. The street they were on was not particularly busy.

Cars hardly ever came down this road, and bikes were more common. The skater pup looked over to her brothers and stopped. They continued playing with their ball, Dolly took a moment to enjoy the scene. She felt sentimental, an odd feeling for the adventurous tomboy.

For some reason, she wanted to watch the little pranksters play. For once, they weren't getting in trouble and it warmed her heart in a way. She continued her gaze as she heard something.

At the same time the trio's ball rolled into the street and they chased after it. Dolly looked to see the source of the noise and gasped. Barreling down the road, a car seemed to be going too fast for Dolly's comfort.

"Dimitris, look out!" She yelled as loud as she could, her brothers were too focused on the ball and continued after it. She was terrified, and yet in an instant found herself zooming towards her brothers on her skateboard. Instinct took over, she had to beat the car and save her brothers who still had not stopped.

She managed to make up the distance, and noticed the car was moments from crushing them . She went to grab her brothers and jumped from the skateboard bracing for impact.

Dolly heard the crunch of her skateboard, she heard screaming, and lastly she heard a thud as the car drove away. Still trying to gather her mind, she looked around seeing Dimitri 1 and 3 scared out of their wits.

The skater saw her board smashed to pieces, but her heart sank as she realized she only had two brothers in her arms. Frantically, she looked around and her eyes landed on a black and white shape.

"No, no ... he can't…." Dolly blurted out as she ran over, noticing red everywhere as she got closer. She tried her best to be calm as the other Dimitris arrived as well. "Bro, say something. Dolly, will he be okay?" One of the Dimitris asked his voice panicked and scared.

"E-Everything….. Hurts," Dimitri 2 struggled to get out, he was covered in blood and barely moving. "You two, go get Dylan and tell him to come here now," Dolly ordered as she tried to hold back tears.

The two dimitris ran as fast as they could, as Dolly stayed with their injured brother. "P-Please, don't leave…. I'm scared…." Dimitri 2 begged his sister in tears. "I'll be right here, I'm not gonna leave. It's gonna be okay," His sister said and pulled him into her arms to comfort him.

"I'm starting to feel numb, I can't move, I don't want to die," the young pup cried out to his sister. Dolly was trying not to cry, as she watched her brother draw on his last breaths.

"Just hang in there, you'll be okay. Everything will be okay," Dolly consoled him as his breathing began slowing. "Dolly, please….. Save me…." The pup muttered as his eyes began closing.

"No, stay with me…. Stay with me," The older sibling tried to encourage as her brother clang to his life in a losing battle. She needed Dylan, and wondered was taking so long. "Dolly, what's wrong? The Dimitr- Oh my dog!" The familiar voice of her stepbrother exclaimed as Dylan rushed over to his siblings.

"He's been hit by a car, I tried to save them, but…." Dolly bit her lip to keep herself from crying. She looked to the injured brother as his breathing had stopped, and was about to start CPR.

A paw stopped her, and Dylan shook his head as she looked up. "Nothing more we could have done, Dolly," Her brother told her, his voice also on the verge of cracking.

"I'll tell Dawkins to take the pups in the backyard, and then we'll take the body inside and cover it up," Dylan told his sister almost dejected, "We'll need to call mom and dad."

Dolly merely nodded, she couldn't say anything as much as she wanted to. Dylan walked to the door and called out, "Dawkins, get the pups to the backyard." Dawkins entered the hallway, and saw Dylan. "What's going on? Two of the Dimitris came to me and were in tears, where's D2?" Dawkins asked not knowing the situation, but there was a concern in his voice.

"You'll find out in a moment, just do what I asked and tell the Dimitris to wait for Dolly and me," Dylan told his assistant in an urgent tone that genius understood and nodded. Dawkins ordered the pups to the backyard and stayed outside with them.

Dylan went inside to get an old blanket and a wagon. He hoped he'd never have to do this, but the space pup hoped for a lot of things. He brought the wagon out to Dolly, and they wrapped the body of their lost loved one in the blanket and set it in the wagon.

"Dolly, let me take it from here and get yourself cleaned up," Dylan told his sister whose coat had been coated red with blood. Dolly merely nodded and walked to the nearest bathroom. As she turned on the shower, the pup began to sob.

"How could I have not grabbed him?" Dolly scolded herself as the water started to wash out the blood. "I was watching them, I was right there. I just wasn't fast enough," Dolly continued as she wondered how she could have failed.

She continued sobbing for what felt like forever, washing herself off as the water turned cold and making sure her fur was back to being black and white. Shaking herself off and drying her fur, she made her way out.

As she walked out into the hallway, she was met by two small pups. Dizzy and Dee Dee were crying and had run up to Dolly. "Is it true? Did one of our brothers get hurt?" The pups asked worried about their sibling, Dolly thought about how to break the news to them.

The two pups had not experienced loss before, and now it seemed that distinction would be gone. They were not alone in that respect, many of the pups hadn't dealt with the loss of a loved one before.

"I'm afraid….. Dimitri 2…. Isn't gonna be with us anymore," Dolly said trying to break the news lightly, the young pups looked confused. "Did he find a new home?" Dizzy asked, to which Dolly sighed as she struggled to think of how to explain.

"No, you see he got hurt. It was really bad and he didn't make it," Dolly explained to them. The twins both looked at each other and finally spoke, "Mum and Dad are with Dylan and Dawkins and are waiting for you."

Dolly just nodded and walked to the room her parents were in. Seeing the faces of all the oldest members of the family, she didn't bother with a smile. She saw Dante even more down than usual, Dylan and Dawkins were staring at the floor, and her parents merely looked at her with concern.

"Dolly, what happened?" Delilah was the first to break the silence, her voice was somehow soothing despite the tone. "I was outside with the Dimitris, they wanted to go outside, but play in the front. I went out to watch them, and everything was fine at first until a car came through and the ball they had been playing with rolled into the street," Dolly paused for a moment to catch her breath.

"I yelled for them to come back and they could hear me, I used my skateboard and…. And…." Dolly was choking back tears at this point," I went to grab them, but I had to jump from my board or we all would have been killed. It wasn't until I opened my eyes again I saw…" The skater finally broke down, Delilah and Doug came over to comfort her.

"Come on, Dolly. It's okay, if it wasn't for you we'd be burying more pups today," Doug said petting the pups head. "I wish it wasn't any….." Dolly let out with a whimper, her parents comforted her as she lay on the floor.

"There there, sweetie. Let it all out," Delilah consoled her daughter and layed next to her. Her brothers remained silent as the two remaining Dimitri brothers merely stood near the wagon in the room.

"Mom said there was nothing anyone could have done, if we had got him to the hospital he would have been put down," Dylan said in a dejected tone, Dawkins and Dante still set in silence.

"Dante, Dawkins? Got anything?" Dylan asked them, and they both just sighed. "What would be the point? We can't bring him back," Dante said in a sour tone, similar to when he tried to help Dylan with Portia. Dawkins, usually one for a quick witted reply, did not bother saying a word.

"I don't know, I just don't know," Dawkins said with a dejected sigh and made his way out of the room. Dante also left the room and Dylan just stood in silence as the remaining family members mourned. "I guess I'll go and…. Uh… Break the news to our other siblings," Dylan said somber to himself and made his way to the backyard.

He had asked some of his older family members to entertain the pups. He heard digging and knew his younger brother Diesel was playing in the dirt. Dylan was about to tell the pup to stop and come out.

"You know, I smell something. It's like a dead animal, I was also digging around in a small garden out front and saw a red car," The digger had popped up and started talking almost surprising his older brother, "I could smell exhaust and it had the windows rolled and I smelt something strange."

"Something strange? Can you describe it?" Dylan asked his brother who just set absentmindedly. "Oh, no. it was a new scent I had never smelled before," Diesel admitted before adding, "Also, the car never slowed and it looked like it may have sped up."

"Really? It sped up when?" Dylan asked in visible confusion as he stared at his brother. "About the time Dolly rushed in with the skateboard, she was very lucky to jump when she did the car had to be traveling nearly 136 kilometers an hour," The young pup confirmed.

"What? You saw all this?" The space pup asked astonished by his younger brother, he was dimwitted and somehow gave all this information. "Oh, I forgot to mention when Dolly went to grab the Dimitrio, Dimitri 2 had fallen behind her," The pup added.

Now, Dylan let this information sink in. He didn't just lose his brother to an accident. It was recklessness and carelessness that took his brother's life, he thought it over. "Thanks, Diesel. Meet me out back, I have to talk to the other pups," Dylan said and the pup just shrugged.

Walking outside, Dylan noticed all the pups stop what they were doing and turn to him. They all gathered around Dylan, waiting for him to speak. "What's been going on, Dylan?" Deepak asked, the first to speak, he sounded genuinely concerned.

"Now, I'm sure all of you have been waiting patiently.I appreciate each and everyone of you, I really do," Dylan began and there was audible confusion. "Dylan, what is going on?" Da Vinci was the one to speak this time. "I'm….. Listen, there was an incident earlier today," The space pup continued to say, there was still some murmuring in the group.

"Come to think of it, where have the Dimitrio been since this morning?" DJ asked now visibly concerned. "I'm afraid, there was an incoming car and Dolly managed to get two of the Dimitrio to safety," Dylan gulped as he continued, he really was choking up still.

"Dolly said Dimitri 2 got hurt," Dizzy said though seemed to not have come to terms with the news. "Dimitri 2….. Was injured by the car, he didn't make it….." Dylan confirmed as audible gasps could be heard all around him.

There was now muttering and stares as many processed the information. Dylan saw his siblings' faces go from worried but hopeful to a dejected grimace. After a moment silence fell over them.

The silence was odd and felt almost out of place, for the normally vibrant household. It was eerie and Dylan was left with more questions than he knew the answer to.

His sister Dolly had managed to calm down enough to walk outside. She didn't bother breaking the silence, and went over to comfort siblings with Dylan. She still felt empty and didn't have any desire to try to lighten the mood.

Dylan watched her comfort the pups as he did as well, he hated it. Seeing his family heartbroken just felt like being stabbed repeatedly with a rusty blade. He wasn't sad, it wasn't even a false denial, he was angry.

The elder pup almost never angered, he and sister had always been opposites and they always would be. But, the one they'd agree on was that no one messes with their family and gets away with it.

Later in the day, as their parents took care of the body, the pups set down for dinner. It was hard not to notice the empty seats and that for once everybody was quiet. There was no bickering, no funny story, it was as if time itself had stopped.

"Dolly, please eat something," Dylan said breaking the silence, as he watched his sister stare at her food. "I'm not really that hungry…." His sister spoke with a disheartened sigh.

"Come on, at least a couple bites. Keep your strength up," Dylan encouraged to no avail. "You think you can get the pups settled in for bed? I need some time alone," Dolly said as she got up to leave the room, all the pups began asking questions. "Ssh, listen it's been a long day. Let's finish our food and go to bed," Dylan said to settle the pups down.

"Can we be excused, too?" One of the Dimitris asked and the other nodded, to Dylan. "Yes, you two just go and rest. We'll talk in the morning," Their elder brother told them and watched them leave.

"Time for bed, pups," Dylan said leading the rest of the pups to bed, he made sure they were all tucked in and finally turned the lights out as he left. He then made his way to his sister's room to check on her.

"Hey, Dolly you awake?" Dylan asked through the door and waited for an answer. "No, no I'm not," The voice from behind the door spoke and Dylan knew she was still shaken up. "Can I come in?" Dylan asked his sister, as he didn't want to be intrusive.

"Yes, go ahead….." Dolly let out almost sounding annoyed. Dylan entered to find his sister in bed turned away from him. "What do you want?" Dolly asked not even looking at him.

"Did you notice anything strange about the car, Dolly?" Dylan asked, though he expected his sister to ignore the question. "Other than speeding and going down the ri-... Right side of the road," Dolly said and seemed to have realized something mid sentence.

"It was on the wrong side of the road, over here people drive on the left side. But, that car was driving on the right side," Dolly confirmed, not knowing what to make of that information.

"Thanks, sis. All I needed to know, Diesel said he smelled something he didn't recognize," Dylan told her causing her sister to turn to him in shock. "Diesel saw that?!" She exclaimed sounding very concerned.

"He saw the car and…. He said…. Uh…. Dimitri 2 had fallen over…. Behind you, and the car never slowed," Dylan confirmed uneasily to his sister. About this time the two Dimitris walked in.

"Oh, hey you two. What do you need?" Dylan and Dolly asked in unison. "We can't sleep, Dolly can we sleep in here?" Dimitri one asked while his brother stayed silent.

"Yeah, come here you two," Dolly said as she knew why they couldn't, it was the same reason she couldn't. When she closed her eyes the scene replayed in her mind. Dylan nodded and left the three alone closing the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Dolly awoke from her dream shaking her head, a week had passed already and it was still fresh in her mind. They had a funeral, and many of the family's friends came to show support. Dolly did her best to act like her usual self, but everyone saw through it.

She felt responsible for what happened, and would often still refer to the Dimitris as a trio. Dolly would replay the incident in her mind, and she'd wake up hoping it was a bad dream.

In the morning, she would look over and see the empty chair. When counting pups she would feel like she was forgetting someone. Dylan would have to remind her that was not the case.

The whole house took it hard, it was too quiet now. As Dylan would clean, he'd remember having to dodge pups and Dolly pestering him. He wanted his family back, but first Dylan needed Dolly.

"For once, I wish it wasn't quiet," Dylan said out loud to himself as he vacuumed. The cleaning was easy now, but Dylan never hated it more. "I need to do something, but red car? I need more than that," Dylan told himself.

Dolly walked outside her room as Dylan cleaned not even bothering to say hello. Dylan stopped and looked to his sister. "Hey, Dolly. I'm about done and I have a present for you," Dylan said smiling and trying to cheer his sister.

"Dylan, I'm really not in the mood for your 'presents'," Dolly said in an almost threatening manner. "No, no. You'll like it, I promise ..." Her brother tried to convince her.

Dolly just ignored him and walked to the bathroom. Her brother was about to start cleaning when he noticed Dawkins had come down. "Good morning, Dylan," The genius pup said as he passed.

Dawkins and Dante seemed the least affected, though they've always dealt with grief in their own unique ways. Dylan wondered if they might be willing to help, though they both could be real pains to talk to.

Dolly finally came out of her shower, at least she tried to smell clean. Dawkins had told her recently she was starting to smell like the undead. Poor wording aside, Dylan still felt she was in the wrong for trying to strangle the inventor.

"Fine, bro. Let's go see this gift…." Dolly had walked up to him and spoke with venom in her voice. Definitely the anger stage, Dylan thought to himself. He jumped to the floor and led her to another room.

When they arrived, he revealed the present was a new skateboard. "Maybe Da Vinci will help you with the design," Dylan said as his sister looked the board over.

It was a nice gesture, but it only reminded Dolly of the incident. "Thanks, Dylan…." Dolly said as she held the skateboard. There was a knock on the door and Dolly went to open it.

"Oh, hey Doll. Is Dylan here?" Fergus asked as he gave her a big smile. "Yes, he's about finished cleaning," The tomboy told him with no enthusiasm.

"Nice new board, Doll. Perhaps you could show us all some tricks later," Fergus tried to encourage. Dolly just shrugged it off, as Fergus walked to Dylan.

"Hey, Dyl! I got some information, apparently Big Fee saw a car later that day going to a car wash. It had blood and fur on the tire, it also seemed to have a convertible top," Fergus told Dylan who listened as he continued, "I also found a couple extra witnesses to the event."

"Really, who?" Dylan and Dolly said in unison almost sounding excited. "Clarissa and Constatine," Fergus confirmed to which both Dolly and Dylan groaned. "Wait, how do you know this?" Dylan asked intrigued at new information.

"No worries, I managed to convince them to give me the information," Fergus said with a wink. "He was threatening them, and they revealed that the car was driven by a human with blonde hair," Diesel had popped up and started saying.

"Um, thanks Diesel and Fergus. Diesel, do you remember what that strange scent smells like?" Dylan asked his younger brother hoping the answer was 'yes'.

"Oh, if I smelled it again, I'd remember it no problem," Diesel said with a conviction Dylan couldn't help but smile at. Fergus chuckled at the pup, showing signs of life the house hadn't seen in what felt like forever.

"Come on, the three o' ya," Fergus said and added, "Ya need some o' that fresh London are."

"So, we're gonna help Dylan and Diesel?" Dolly asked confused, to which Fergus smiled slyly. "No, Doll. Dylan and Diesel are gonna play detective, and you are gonna try out your new skateboard," Fergus said to which Dolly raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Dolly you need to get out. Last time you went outside was…. Well, you should get out and get some air," Dylan agreed as Diesel got up on his brothers back.

Under normal circumstances, he might have scolded the pup. But, this had not been a normal week. "Dawkins, you're in charge until we get back," Dolly told the genius pup as he came from the kitchen.

"Fair enough," Dawkins said rather than his usual phrase, he had been seeming more willing to spend time with the pups and Dante. Still, Dylan and Dolly were concerned with him as he seemed to be getting more distant with them as well.

Dolly, Fergus, and Dylan walked outside with Diesel in tow. It was cloudy, and cold as was normal for London. "Dyl, you and Diesel go sniff about. See if he recognizes the smell near a pub or somethin', Doll can come with me to try out her skateboard," Fergus told them.

"Ferg, why do you wanna hang out with Dolly so much?" Dylan said, they might have been friends, but the space pup felt the fox was up to something. "She's my friend, too. If anything, I'm helping you Dyl," Fergus said with his usual sly demeanor.

"Dylan, I'll be fine. I know Fergus can be… Difficult. But, we both know I can handle myself and if he tries to pull a stunt like last time I can kick his a-," Dolly defended before a paw was in her mouth, Dylan felt teeth start tightening on his paw and pulled away.

"Come on, you know we can't swear in front of the pups," Dylan told his sister who rolled her eyes. "See things are almost back to normal already," Fergus joked as he chuckled at the scene.

The two pairs split up and went different directions. Dolly walked with Fergus, she held her skateboard rather than use it. "Come on, Doll. At least try it out, after all your brother went through the effort of getting for you," Fergus encouraged as he watched the tomboy walk with her head down.

Dolly set the skateboard on the ground and put a paw on it. When she did, she could feel tears form as she saw her brother pleading with her again. He asked her to save him, and she couldn't.

For a moment, Dolly saw herself racing to the scene and grabbing her three brothers. She wanted that to be the reality, Fergus put paw on her back and she snapped back to the board.

"Come on, Doll. It'll be alright, you've got to get past it," Fergus said, the tomboy always knew Fergus could be kind when he wanted to be; But, it just felt strange to her.

"Alright…. I can do this," Dolly finally said pushing off and riding beside Fergus. Seeing his friend back on her board, made the fox smile.

On the other side of London, two Dalmatian pups sniffed about a dumpster behind a pub. "Smell anything, Diesel?" Dylan asked his younger brother hoping for something.

"Just this half eaten hot dog, it's making me hungry," the digger said licking his lips at part of a hot dog.

"Stay focused, Diesel. We're trying to find a specific smell, do you smell anything familiar around here?" The nerdy pup knew it was gonna be a long day as his brother sniffed around.

"Oh, it wasn't alcohol. It was quite a bit different," Diesel told his brother, who now was confused. "You mean the driver wasn't drunk?" Dylan asked now confused, to which his younger brother nodded.

"It wasn't completely out of control, it was too focused. Like the driver wanted to do it," His brother confirmed, Dylan wanted to punch something when he heard it. He began thinking.

"Couldn't be a De Vil, they want to dognap us and….. Well, running a pup over wouldn't help in that case," the space pup was confused as he tried to figure out who would want to harm his siblings.

"Everybody we know has an alibi, and I'm not sure if it about a De Vil, but the smell was one I couldn't place. It smelled foreign, and like some kind of drug," Diesel said going back to digging in the garbage.

"We aren't getting a break are we? Oh my dog," Dylan said his annoyance more evident. "Well, it was a fairly old car. Bet if saw it again, I could tell and it might be useful to know it turned left," Diesel told his older brother, while the way it turned didn't help much, it did let Dylan now a general direction.

"Thank you, Diesel. Still, London's a big place, full of people," Dylan said unsure of what to make out of it. Now, they needed a break and fast.

"Can I have a treat now?" Diesel asked his brother in a begging manner. "Yeah, I suppose I'll get you a treat," Dylan told the pup who jumped around excitedly.

Dylan lead the pup to a nearby corner where humans had a bad habit of dropping food. They walked over to the humans who started gawking at the dogs.

"Aww, whose puppies are these?" One human asked and petted Diesel who was enjoying the attention. A human began walking up to Dylan, his blonde hair stood out as did the smell of strong cologne.

He reminded Dylan of Hunter De Vil, but his appearance was slightly different. The Dalmatian felt something off, but he was always a terrible judge of character. Dylan was unsure of what to do.

He began barking at the human to back off, and moved towards Diesel. This human nearly matched the description, but Dylan couldn't recognize him. The elder pup did the only thing he could think of, Dylan grabbed his brother and ran.

As her brother played detective, Dolly rode on her skateboard with Fergus walking beside her. The two had mostly been silent, Fergus just let the skater ride alongside him.

Dolly noticed they were coming up on a busy intersection and began feeling nervous. It never bothered her before, but things had changed with the incident still fresh in her mind.

A part of her wanted to rush through the intersection, and see if she made it. She was still feeling hesitant, it was as if she had to relearn how to skate. Dolly finally pushed off to pick up a little speed.

"There we go," Fergus encouraged as he watched Dolly pick up speed, the fox started walking faster to keep up. The pup continued in a straight line, towards the intersection.

"Careful, Doll. We shouldn't try to play 'beat the car' here," Fergus warned the dalmatian. Dolly skidded to a stop as a car sped past her by mere inches and merely said, "Right."

They waited for the light to change, so they could cross carefully. They continued on to their destination. "Actually, Fergus you didn't say where we were going," Dolly said confused as they made it to the other side of the road.

"I didn't, but don't worry you'll like it. There's an old abandoned skate park near some train tracks, that's where we're going," Fergus told the tomboy, he gave her a grin.

Dolly wondered what the fox was doing, his motives were unclear. On one hand, he could have just been trying to be a good friend, but she felt there was an ulterior motive.

Once they got to the old skate park, Dolly looked around. It was desolate, but still in decent condition. While nature had slowly begun to reclaim it, it had a strange beauty to it. There was graffiti all over, and she noticed some of it seemed familiar.

She could spot Da Vinci's handiwork and noticed it was recent, it wasn't what had stopped her for the moment. What had was the picture itself, the painter had done a tribute to her brother.

It was in a spot that could only be seen if you stopped to look for it, Dolly smiled at the artist's picture. After a moment, she pushed off as Fergus watched.

Dolly began racing towards a ramp, making sure to gain the momentum needed for the jump. Hitting the ramp at high speed, she twirled in mid air managing to land it. For the first time in a week, her heart raced.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, she skidded on a rail as she just focused her mind. The skater pup noticed it getting darker as she began to enjoy herself again. Her mind was clear for a moment, as she continued doing her stunts.

It seemed like the world stopped, she was in her world and nothing could change that. She hadn't spoken a word as Fergus just cheered her on.

She felt like herself again for a moment, as if nothing were wrong at all. It was then she saw a car pass by. She found herself flying towards it, as she did she saw it.

Her three brothers running, Dolly found herself back at the incident. She knew it was an illusion, but she felt herself racing in her mind. This time, the skater thought, it will be this time.

"Dolly, watch out!" Fergus exclaimed as the skater took a bad bounce over the railing. Dolly shook her head and realized she had landed in the street.

The skater had enough time to look up and see the bright lights coming towards her. She was frozen in fear and couldn't move.


	3. Chapter 3

Dawkins had watched his older siblings leave, and knew he had his handful. He thought for a moment about who to recruit. The inventor needed responsible, and helpful pups.

"Well, Dante's the oldest…. But, it's Dante. Da Vinci, Delgado, and DJ… Eh, still need to grow a little," Dawkins reasoned to himself, he couldn't think of any pup to help him.

"Deepak, maybe…. He's still young, shouldn't put too much pressure on him," Dawkins was at a loss, he normally didn't have this problem. Dylan and Dolly normally took care of everything.

But, they would be gone all day. The inventor hadn't noticed that the goth pup walked up to him. "Did you call me, Dawkins?" Dante asked his brother, not using his normal haminess.

"No, I was just thinking of who to ask for help with the pups," Dawkins told the goth. He figured he'd be honest, figuring Dante would leave.

"Let me help, besides we need to stick together," Dante said much to the inventor's surprise and confusion. "Dante, you know the pups are a big responsibility," Dawkins responded.

"Yes, which is why we should work together," Dante said adamant, the genius pup wasn't sure what to make of this statement.

"Fine, Dante. Just follow my lead, I'll go get Deepak," Dawkins said to the goth, who made a crude gesture when Dawkins back was turned.

Neither pup wanted much to do with one another, but they were still family. Right now, helping each other was the only option. One spent his days making gadgets in his room, the other spent his time scaring pups with spooky stories.

Today, they would have no choice but to work together. One pup could play mediator, and they both knew it.

Deepak was in his room meditating, the two Dimitris were sleeping peacefully beside him.

"Hello, Deepak. Sorry to disturb you, but we need help keeping the pups in line," Dawkins interrupted as the goth merely sat beside him.

"Meowowow, I must embrace my inner cat, and also trying to keep the peace around here. Of course, I'll help," the meditating pup told his brothers.

The three brothers went and fixed breakfast, calling all the pups down. They all sat down and began to eat.

"Dawkins, you set out too many bowls," Dante told the inventor, who got up and put one bowl of kibble back up.

As the pups ate, Dawkins set up the game plan. "Alright, Deepak I need you to mediate between everyone. I'll need Da Vinci, Delgado, and DJ to entertain the pups. Dante, you and I will oversee things and take care of clean up and making sure all pups are accounted for."

"I guess I could do an art class?" Da Vinci stated unsure about the plan, the inventor just gave a nod. "Well, I have been working on a few songs. I've nearly finished them to," DJ said full of confidence, Delgado looked around and sighed.

"Something wrong, Delgado?" Dawkins asked his sibling, who shook his head. "It's nothing, let's try to get back to normal," the handicapped pup said, Dawkins wondered what was on his mind.

Deepak, was doing his usual routine of trying to keep the house calm. Dante merely began washing the dishes, and all the pups began doing as asked.

Dawkins decided to walk around and keep an eye on everybody. Between pups having nightmares and bickering with one another, he'd find himself stepping in more than he liked.

He'd like to be able to relax, but he was on edge. Dawkins knew he wasn't unique in that regard, if there wasn't a fight to break up, it was a pup asking questions that Dawkins couldn't seem to answer.

"Hey, Dawkins. Can we go outside, today?" Dizzy and DeeDee asked, the twins had been as down as the rest of the pups. The inventor hated it for them, seeing all of this drama.

"Of course, Delgado is doing tricks out back, you two can go watch," Dawkins said to which the twins sighed and walked away. They wanted to go to the park, but they had been told to not leave the house today.

The situation was causing too much tension, Dawkins felt uneasy as his mind raced. "Dawkins, we should really take the pups to the….. Well, you know," Dante walked up and told the inventor.

"Right now, we're just going to have to stick it out. If it's true that someone purposely ran him over, we have to take precautions," Dawkins told his brother, who groaned.

"Delgado and the other two can only do so much," Dante told his genius brother and continued, "We need to stop being cooped up in here, or else disaster." The inventor gave his brother a skeptical look.

"I think you're overreacting, Dante," Dawkins replied to his brother, who whimpered a little. "I just... want a way to fix this," Dante told his brother.

"I know, Dante," Dawkins said with a sigh. "At least, we didn't lose anyone helpful," the goth stated to which Dawkins was flabbergasted.

"How dare you say such a thing, you tie dyed bastard!" Dawkins shouted at his brother who was offended and confused.

"What I was just saying, that it's good we didn't lose someone who helped around the house," Dante said not even listening to his own words.

"You're one to talk, Dante. Before and now, always sitting around sulking and feeling sorry for yourself!" Dawkins was fuming at his brother and continued, "If I could get rid of you to get him back, I wouldn't hesitate."

A silence fell over the household, Dawkins put a paw on his mouth. "That wasn't supposed to sound that way," Dawkins said, the goth glared at his brother.

"Geez, Dawkins Dalmatian. Tell me how you really feel," the goth spoke with a vitriol Dawkins never knew he was capable of.

"Wait, I didn't mean…." the inventor tried to no avail as his brother walked away. "I think we both know what you meant…." Dante said walking upstairs and out of sight.

"Oh, kibbles…" The inventor said as his brother left, Dawkins knew what he said was uncalled for. Though, what the goth said wasn't any better.

Dawkins knew he had to talk to Dante as much as he wanted to avoid him. He made his way up the steps and knew where to look.

The inventor walked into a dark room with a familiar shape sitting in the center, he walked closer. "Go away….." The voice of his brother practically growled at him, Dawkins gulped but continued forward.

"Come on, Dante. We agreed to work together, we can't stop now," Dawkins said trying to reason with his brother.

"Yeah, I know. Because, I'm Dante right? I'm always overreacting, right? Like with Bessie, the 'top dog' incident, oh there was one more recent," Dante said the bitterness in his voice seeming almost unnatural.

"Care to recall, _brother dear_," the goth emphasized those last words in a stinging manner. "What are you talking about?" Dawkins asked confused.

"I recall warning Dolly that someone was waiting outside, I told you, and Dylan as well," Dante revealed to Dawkins shock, he had remembered Dante saying something about a car.

"But, maybe I'm just paranoid….." Dante said that last line with an almost sinister smile. "You did miss it with….." Dawkins started before his collar was yanked and he felt his feet leave the floor, "Oh Kibbles….."

"You just never wanted to accept me or Doug did you?" Dante said, his anger evident as he flung his brother across the room landing on a pile of pillows.

"I don't understand the question…" Dawkins quipped, in a daze as he thought about why his brother was flinging him around.

"We're both so alike, it's almost scary," Dante said grabbing his brother and throwing him a second time.

"I don't remember throwing anyone into pillows…." Dawkins landed on another set of pillows. _Is he aiming for them?_, the inventor wondered to himself. He knew Dante could overpower him, but what the goth was doing confused him.

"You know, maybe if you could see me as more than another member of the household….. We'd get along splendidly," Dante said the last line with a faux british accent as he flung his brother again.

"That wasn't even funny, I'm telling mum," Dawkins was unamused as he flew again.

"Let's face it, me and you, never adjusted to the new life we had," Dante was just sounding more upset. The inventor noted that his brother seemed to not be trying to hurt him.

"Why can't you just accept me as a brother?!" The goth shouted in tears, and finally stopped his onslaught.

"Dante, is that what this is about? Proving your worth?" Dawkins asked he was heartbroken, as he looked at Dante.

"I don't want this…. Watching my family tear itself apart….. Again," Dante admitted through tears and turned as they heard whimpering.

They noticed the source, a small spotless pup. They both knew Dorothy had watched their fight.

The young pup merely looked at her brothers, who had finally settled down. The brothers walked over to each other and embraced.

"No, this family won't fall apart. Not this time, and we'll make sure of it," Dawkins told his brother.

"I shouldn't have said what I did, but we need to work together. There's no turning back," Dante told his brother as Dorothy had come up to them and joined the hug.

"So, we friends?" Dante said with a slightly warmer tone than usual. "No, we're brothers. Don't forget it, and we aren't going to watch this house fall apart," the inventor said as he rubbed Dorothy's head.

"Wait, you said you saw the car?" Dawkins asked his brother, astonished by what he had heard. Dante nodded, and let out a whimper, not wanting to break the embrace.

Dylan and Diesel had got away from the group of humans, and made it to the alleyway. "Why did you do that, Dylan? A human just gave me a hot dog," Diesel told his brother said at the lost treat.

"Diesel, there was a human who matched the description…." Dylan told his brother who shook his head. "That wasn't the human, smell was off and hair too short," Diesel shared, to Dylan's disdain.

"We're no closer to solving this are we?" Dylan fell on his back and gave an annoyed sigh.

"I actually saw a similar looking car drive by, it could have been the same, but it turned in the direction of an old skatepark," the digger said to which his brother set up, Dylan got to his feet almost instantly.

"Where we going now, Dylan?" Digger asked curiously, the space pup looked incredulous at his brother.

"To the old skate park, come on," Dylan said and dragged his brother with him down the sidewalk.

The lights came closer as Dolly was trying to get her body to move. "Look out, Dolly!" She heard Fergus shout as her was yanked, pulling her to the sidewalk. The car passed by, her and the tomboy was shaking.

"Hey, Doll. Is it just me or did that car stop?" Fergus asked pointing to the vehicle. It had stopped and began to do a u-turn.

"Uh, Ferg. That car looks familiar, and it's turning," Dolly said, as she watched the car turn towards.

"Doll, I think we should go…." Fergus said as the car began racing towards them, Dolly pulled Fergus with her and grabbed her skateboard as the car was getting closer.

"We're gonna need to find a place it can't fit," Dolly told the fox as the car approached gaining speed. "Let's get to the train tracks, should be safe," Fergus replied and both ran towards the train tracks.

Dolly heard a loud horn blow, and gasped. "A trains coming, we might not make it," the dalmatian shouted as they approached the tracks. She looked behind her noticed the car stopped for a moment before driving away.

"I think it couldn't get past the barricade, still we should be careful," the fox told Dolly. The pup nodded in agreement, as they stopped before getting to the train tracks.

The train passed by them as Dolly realized how late it was. "I really should be getting home," the skater told the fox.

"Hey why don't you chill at my hangout for a bit," the fox told the pup, Dolly raised an eyebrow at the fox. "Fergus, I'm not stupid," the skater said to him.

"What are you talking about, Doll? I didn't say that," the fox looked genuinely confused. "What are you up to?" Dolly asked him, the fox didn't answer.

"If you don't want to hang, just say so," Fergus said with a frown, the tomboy noticed he sounded hurt by her words.

"Fine, I suppose I can hang out for a little while," Dolly told the fox and they began to walk to the bridge the fox called home. The walk was quiet and neither wanted to break the silence.

"The car was here, but so was Dolly," Diesel said as he had sniffed out the path of the vehicle. Dylan looked around, but saw no sign of Dolly or Fergus.

Dylan sniffed the air to see what he could figure out. "The car doubled back around, I'm not sure why," Diesel told his brother who had managed to find the scent of his sister and friend.

"They went towards the train tracks," Dylan said as he looked around. "Let's get back home, I'm not sure we'll find anything else," Dylan told his younger brother and began walking back to the house.

The brothers arrived home and entered the house, met by Dawkins and Dante. "Dylan, Dante has information for you," the inventor told his older brother.

"What happened? Did I miss something?" Dylan asked looking at the two, surprised that both of them were working together.

"Therapy session…. Anyway, Dante said he saw the driver of the car," Dawkins told the space pup.

"It was Hunter De Vil!" Dante exclaimed turning a nearby lamp on and off. "Really, bro?" Dylan told the goth unamused.

"Sorry, force of habit," Dante replied sheepishly, as his brother processed the information.

Dolly sat down near the river with as Fergus was behind her. "Fergus, why are you staring at me?" the skater said back still turned to the fox.

"Just admiring the view," Fergus told her slyly, Dolly turned her head to the fox and cocked it to the side. "Ferg, that's a weird thing to say to a friend," Dolly told the fox as he smiled.

"Yes, I guess it would be," Fergus told her and walked over, sitting beside her. "Ya know, Doll. I remember meeting your brother, it was a bad time for him to," Fergus told her.

Dolly couldn't recall hearing how Dylan met Fergus, and listened. "This was right before Delilah had remarried," the fox told her, smiling as he reminisced.

"Why are you telling me this?" Dolly asked the fox, she was curious now. "He was sitting where you are now," Fergus told her and smiled.

"We began chatting and he told me how he'd lost someone close to him, he hadn't gotten over it. I told him how I'd lost someone as well," The fox continued recollecting, "Then he mentioned how his mother was seeing someone, with a pup his age."

Dolly started felt herself about to cry, she knew where this was going. "He told me this pup, was always trying to play with him and how her dad would treat him," Fergus sounded as if he was gonna cry himself.

"That he didn't know if he wanted them as part of his family, and I remember him saying he was scared," the fox said and continued, "he was afraid to accept the change, not wanting to forget who he lost."

"But this new pup he met was always happy and enjoying herself. He told me he wished he could be more like her," The fox continued as Dolly began crying.

"I told him, that he should just accept them and he wouldn't forget. That he needed to move on, you can't bring anyone back from the dead," Fergus said as the skater sniffled.

"The next time I saw him, he seemed happier. Saying how his friend was gonna be his sister, I've never seen Dylan get that excited over anything not space related," Fergus finished his story, Dolly wiped her eyes.

"Dylan never shared that with me, I thought I just annoyed him," Dolly admitted to the fox. "That's what brothers and sisters are for," Fergus joked to lighten the mood and pulled Dolly into a hug.

Dolly just smiled, though she still wondered why Fergus was trying so hard to spend time with her.

"Now, I wonder what Hansel is doing," Dolly used her crush's name, to see the fox's reaction. Fergus' eyes went wide and he chuckled.

"Um, Dolly… I gotta be honest, you aren't really his type," Fergus told her, and she looked confused.

"Not his type?" Dolly asked, not understanding the statement. "You know the German Shepherd he hangs with?" The fox asked her, she shook her head as she'd seen him but never talked to him.

"They're a little more than friends," Fergus told the pup, it took a moment for it to click. "Wait, you mean they're a…" Dolly started and Fergus nodded.

Dolly had no response, she let out a yawn. It had been a long day, and she needed a rest.

"We should rest," Fergus told her and they both layed down close together to keep warm. Dolly was thinking of going home, but figured she'd let herself rest.

"Dylan is gonna freak out if he sees this, so would mom and dad," Dolly joked and caused Fergus to chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm a gentleman when I want to be," Fergus said as Dolly laid her head on his paws.

Fergus smiled and laid his head on her neck, both fell asleep as the cool night air blew through their fur. Dolly was calm, for the first time in what felt like forever. Letting herself sleep peacefully at last.


	4. Chapter 4

Dylan had looked everywhere for his sister, it was morning and she was nowhere around the house. "At least the weather's nice today, I still need to do something about Hunter though," the space pup told himself.

He walked to the bridge were Fergus normally hung out, she was with him last so it made sense to go ask the fox. As he approached he noticed two familiar faces laying next to each other.

"Dolly, Fergus? Wha-how can-Oh my dog," Dylan said as he slowly grasped the situation. "Hmm, wha- who, Dylan?!" Dolly exclaimed as here brother surprised her.

"This isn't what it looks like," the skater told her brother as she got up, Dylan chuckled and then felt himself gag.

"My sister and my friend, no that's not happening," Dylan said, his sister raised an eyebrow. "Bro, I can date who I want firstly. And secondly, way to jump to conclusions," the skater told her brother annoyed.

"But, I didn't think you liked Fergus like that anyway," Dylan said as Dolly hugged him. This surprised the space pup at first, but he returned the hug.

"I love you, Dylan," Dolly told her brother who just smiled at his sister. "I love you, too," Dylan replied as the fox began to wake up. "Oh, hey Dyl. You and Diesel got anything?" Fergus asked the space pup.

"It was Hunter all along, we should have seen that one coming," Dylan told his sister, who noticed a bitterness in his voice. "Let's go home, then we discuss what to do next," Dolly told her brother who nodded.

Dolly felt her brother was planning something, and wanted to keep him from doing something rash. "Let's get going. Bye, Ferg," Dolly told the fox who blew her a kiss causing Dylan to gag in disgust.

"Oh, come on. Dylan, I put up with your dorkiness everyday," the tomboy stated picking up her skateboard. Dylan chuckled as they began to walk home and said, "So, I guess that means your back?"

"I never left, but I'm feeling better. We should get the house back up and running," Dolly told her brother who agreed. "We've been through a lot, and this has gone on long enough," Dylan told his sister, she noted a strange resolve in his voice.

"So, did Diesel manage to sniff him out? We may have had a run in with him, but what is his plan this time?" Dolly asked seeming as confounded as his brother. "No, it seems Dante saw him waiting outside," Dylan admitted.

"Wasn't he screaming his usua-," Dolly stopped as her brother looked at her and sighed. "He was, we all ignored him," Dylan bit his lip as he said those words, the one time they should have listened to their paranoid brother and they ignored him.

"So, you and Fergus huh?" Dylan asked his sister who nodded and smiled. "He's a good guy, when he wants to be," Dolly told her brother who agreed and laughed. They approached their street as they joked and laughed at each other.

When they approached their door they agreed to just say Dolly was with a friend. "Let's try to enjoy ourselves today," Dylan told his sister, his upbeat demeanor concealed something she couldn't make out.

They entered the house, and set down at the table for breakfast. "Where have you been, Dolly?" Delilah asked her with a smirk on her face. "Oh, I was with a friend," the tomboy said eating her kibble.

"Hmm, which friend?" Delilah asked causing Dolly to wonder what her mom was doing. "It was… Roxy," Dolly said, her mom let out a giggle. "What's funny, mom?" Dolly asked, she was starting to get annoyed with the questions.

"I could have sworn I saw you with that fox friend of yours last night," Delilah finally said, Dolly froze up and nearly choked. "I did hang with him, for a bit," Dolly said hoping that would be the end of it.

"The thing is, I was on my way home when I saw you and him huddled up next to each other," her mom admitted to Dolly who's face went from argumentative to looking at her kibble in embarrassment.

"Ooooh, Dolly got a boyfriend," Triple D spoke up in glee. Suddenly there was life at the table again, as pups began excitedly chatting and looking at Dolly. "It isn't like that, trust me, it was really chilly last night," Dolly defended herself to Dylan's amusement.

"So, that would mean a fox could my brother… Oh cool!" Destiny stated excitedly as her mind raced. "Let's not think that far ahead, Destiny," Dolly told her sister and put a paw to her mouth. There was plenty of laughter at that.

"So, you finally admit it," Delilah said laughing with Doug and happy to see her family smiling again. "Oh, my little girl's growing up so fast," Doug said tears in his eyes.

"Can we go to the park today, please?" Dee Dee and Dizzy asked with huge grins. "Yes, I think we will. But, first you two should finish the kibble," Dolly told her two younger sisters who excitedly went back to eating.

"What about… You know?" Dylan asked his sister, his concern was obvious. "Dylan, we can take care of it. But, we've been at each other's throats all week and it's about time we got ourselves back on our feet," Dolly told her brother, Dylan couldn't argue with her words.

"Thank you, now that we're all done feeling sorry for ourselves, can we go back to being a family again?" Delgado blurted out, causing everyone to turn towards him.

"What's this about, Delgado?" Dolly asked confused at her handicapped brother. He took a deep breath before he began.

"I mean, I understand we lost someone, but all of you were ready to give up on each other and constantly bickered. Don't think I wasn't mourning for a second, but I deal with a disadvantage everyday and I haven't given up," Delgado started scolding his family.

"Yet, we were ready to tear each other apart in this situation. If we were ready to turn on each other when we needed each other the most, how can we call ourselves family?" Delgado told his sister and his family went silent.

"We were angry and took it out on each other, I do have days I feel like a burden, but I never take it out on any of you," Delgado finally finished his rant sobbing, he hated to break up the mood but he needed to make his point.

"We really weren't showing our best colors, but we can learn from it. As depressing as it sounds, maybe we needed to learn not to take life or family for granted," Dawkins admitted in an understanding fashion.

"I think we can agree a lot happened this week, and some lessons get learned the hard way," Delilah said smiling at her children and turned to the clock, "We need to get going we'll be late for work.

"Group hug!" Doug hollered and all the pups joined in. Delilah and Doug said their goodbyes and left for the day.

Dolly turned and noticed Dylan carrying a bucket placing old rusty nails, tacs, and splinters of wood in it. It seemed odd, but she figured it was Dylan being Dylan. He could always be over protective.

Then again sharp objects around young pups was never a good thing. The tomboy decided to go and get the pups ready to go outside. Still, she couldn't help but to think her brother was up to something.

As his sister got the pups ready, Dylan checked everywhere for debris that could be harmful to the pups. Everyone would assume he was doing this to protect the pups, but that was merely an indirect benefit.

Deep down, Dylan had decided never to let anyone harm his family again. He was going to stop Hunter once and for all. His family was what mattered to him, and if someone tried to take that away he wouldn't stand for it.

"I'll just have to hide this somewhere, if I can pop the tires. I might be able to rip his throat out," Dylan said to himself, he wasn't aware he could think like that. He wondered that maybe he wasn't so good after all.

"No, I can't back down. I need to put an end to this," Dylan told himself, his mind was more focused. He wasn't daydreaming about space or thinking of his precious telescope. It was a strange state of mind.

"An end to what?" Diesel asked having walked up to his brother, the digger never seemed to grasp a situation to Dylan's annoyance. He couldn't get annoyed with family Dylan always told himself.

"Don't worry about it, Diesel. You go play or something, you did a good job helping me," Dylan encouraged the pup, who seemed eager and willing to help. Dylan knew he'd have to do this alone.

"Dylan, are you coming?!" Dolly shouted from downstairs, as Dylan finished filling the bucket. "Yes, one moment!" he responded and hid the bucket where only he'd find it. Meeting his family at the door, took a peek outside.

"Is it safe?" Dolly asked, for once she wasn't annoyed with her brother being paranoid. "Looks to be, I don't see that car. Though, I wonder why he changed his mind and just wants to kill us now," Dylan pondered to himself, Dolly smacked him.

"Let's not scare the little pups, maybe something changed?" Dolly scolded him for bringing it up, but decided she'd add her thoughts on the subject. They began leading the pups out, all the pups followed Dolly as Dylan counted them.

Dolly led the pups with glee, but kept her eye out for trouble. She had her skateboard as well, figuring she could ride it some at the park. Dolly missed her old board, but appreciated her new one just the same.

"Dylan, that bucket why'd you hide it near my room?" Dante said as he walked up behind Dylan, the goth seemed concerned about his brother. "Don't worry, Dante. I just had to set it somewhere I'll get it when we get back," Dylan told his brother as they stood behind the line of pups.

"You've been acting strange today, if there's something wrong you should talk to us. We're here for you," the goth stated to Dylan, the geeky pup heard those words and they stung his heart.

"I'm sorry we ignored you, Dante. Though, I guess it's too late now," Dylan told his brother, he wondered if Dante knew what he was up to. There was still a part of him, that didn't want to go through with it.

They made it to the park without trouble, Dylan watched his siblings as they played and enjoyed themselves. He felt like he was being watched, and looked around. He went to hide in a bush and noticed a familiar face.

"If you hadn't of stopped funding me, I wouldn't have done it," the voice of Hunter caused Dylan to growl. This was his chance, he could end Hunter once and for all.

He wanted to, but he felt as if he were being held back. "Yes, I did purchase a dog. I plan on unleashing it in that house, and letting it kill them, it's a highly aggressive dog," Hunter was speaking over the phone.

He was so close, Dylan felt himself getting angry as he listened. The pup had hard the reason, he lost his brother for no reason other than a petty squabble. The young pup wanted to rip Hunter's throat out.

Dylan was never a killer, and if he killed Hunter here, his siblings as well as many humans would see. He'd be taken away, and most likely put down. If he was gonna do it, had had to make it look like an accident.

It seemed as if a voice in his head was trying to reason with him. "Dylan, stop it you're drawing attention to yourself," the voice spoke and he looked up to see Dolly had come over to him.

"He's right there, Dolly," Dylan explained to his sister, who noticed Hunter close by watching the pups. "Nothing we can do at this moment, don't do anything foolish," Dolly replied as her brother came to his senses.

"We should get going, sis," Dylan told his sister trying to save face. He was letting his anger get the best of him. But, it seemed the more he learned the angrier it made him. He followed his sister and they gathered the pups.

Dolly was worried about her brother, she'd never seen him that angry. The skater could have sworn she saw murder in his eyes. She wondered if he was capable of that, her brother was a lovable dork.

If he were a killer, she wouldn't know what to do. She thought on it, but led the pups home. Dylan, Dante, and Dawkins saw no sign of being followed. But, that was little consolation, Hunter still knew where they lived.

She could thank Dylan for that, she loved her brother but he was always either too trusting or overreacting.

Dolly tried to focus, she'd talk with Dylan privately. If she had to get Fergus to talk to him she would. She knew who Dylan would listen to, though she did note Dylan can get to where he won't listen to anyone at all.

"I already watched one brother die, I can't lose another one," Dolly muttered to herself, Diesel was behind her. "What do you mean, sis?" The digger asked, he was carrying on being his usual happy self.

"Don't worry about it, Diesel. You did a good job, I hope you know that," Dolly told her brother. "Dylan, I think is planning something. He wouldn't tell me, maybe you can talk to him," Diesel said in response.

"Also, I was digging around this morning and noticed a large dog near the house. It had that strange scent to it," Diesel said as he walked alongside his sister.

"Large dog? Do you know the breed?" Dolly asked, to which the digger shook his head. "It was a brown adult dog, he seemed to watch Da Vinci paint. He was kinda creepy, actually," Diesel admitted to his sister.

Dolly processed the information as she led the pups in the house, and took a count. "I think I'll be upstairs, I have an idea for a painting to do," Da Vinci stated and walked up stairs, Dolly watched and looked to Dylan.

"Dylan, were we followed?" Dolly asked her brother, to which Dylan shook his head. "Good, we should tell mom and dad. They'll know how to handle this," Dolly said as the pups began playing.

"I smell the scent again, it's quite strong," Diesel said to his older sister, Dolly turned to Dylan confused. Her brother put two and two together, and realized that Diesel smelled Hunter's dog.

"Can you smell where he went?" Dylan asked as Dolly turned her head towards the stairs. "The smell goes upstairs," the digger told his siblings. Dolly and Dylan looked to each other and in unison spoke, "Da Vinci!"

"AAH! Get away from me!" they heard the voice of their sister yell out. "Bow Whacka Wow!" Dolly shouted as she ran up the stairs, Dylan followed suit and went straight to her sisters room.

Dante had run up to follow, and Dawkins stayed with the pups. The pups were scared and worried. Diesel looked towards Dawkins and spoke, "We should call Pearl, I think."

Dawkins nodded in agreement, going over to the phone he noticed Hunter's car out the window. "Oh, kibbles! Everyone hide, I'll try to contact Pearl," Dawkins told his siblings, who quickly hid.

Dolly and Dylan made it to the closed door and found it locked. They nodded to each other and burst through the door and growled at what they saw.


	5. Chapter 5

The large brown dog, a Belgian Malinois, stood over Da Vinci as she struggled to be free. When her brother and sister burst in, The large dog turned his gaze towards them. Giving the painter the opportunity to grab a nearby spray can.

"Aah!" The dog yelped as paint was sprayed in his eyes. Dylan and Dolly ran over to overpower him while he was blinded. The older dog managed to knock Dylan against a wall as Dolly tried her luck.

"We can't overpower him, don't let him bite you," Dylan yelled at his sister, who dodged a strike from the mad dog's paw. "We need to figure something out here," Dolly told her brother as the dog was struggling with the paint in his eyes.

The dog knocked over paintings, as Da Vinci watched the fight unsure of what to do next. Dolly kept trying to evade, looking for a way to take out this vicious animal. Da Vinci's studio was getting trashed as the painter watched completely helpless.

Dylan jumped up again to help his sister. The pup managed to jump on the dogs back, and bit down on the back of the dogs neck. He tasted blood, but the dog seemed unfazed as he tried to shake Dylan off.

Dolly went for his knees, hearing a crack as the foreleg she bit broke from the pressure. The dog howled in pain as he threw Dylan off his back. Dolly used the moment to try to pin the dog down, for the first time gaining a true advantage.

Da Vinci was cowering in the corner, and Dylan looked to be out of it. Dolly noticed and almost as quickly as she got an advantage she found herself on her back. The dog had her pinned to the floor.

"You seem to enjoy getting in harm's way, I wish I could enjoy you more. But, I must finish my job, the name's Benjamin," Benjamin spoke to Dolly in a voice that sent chills down her spine as he placed his jaws around her neck.

Tears formed in her eyes as she felt this was it. Dolly's dreams, her family, and anything she loved would mean nothing. She was terrified and thought about how Dimitri 2 must of felt, hopeless and scared.

She could feel the jaws begin tightening around her neck. She wanted to beg him to stop, but Dolly knew it wouldn't do anything. She wondered what was better, to die in the arms of a loved one, or killed by the jaws of a monster.

"Get your jaws off my sister!" Another voice yelled into the room, Dolly recognized the voice as Dante. Ben released Dolly from his jaws to look at the new arrival, and received a face full of debris for his troubles.

It seemed to hit him with enough force to push him backwards. Ben lost his balance as he slipped on a paint brush on the floor. When he fell backwards he hit the window with enough force to break it, falling outside of the house.

Dolly took a moment to catch her breath, looking over at Dante who looked shocked at what had just happened. Dylan got to his feet, blood on his muzzle from where he bit and a little bruised up.

Da Vinci hadn't moved from where she was, and seemed to be processing what just happened. "Did we just kill someone?" Dante asked, shaking as he saw what had transpired. "It was in self defense," Dolly reassured him, though even she hated the thought of killing someone.

"Let's gather our heads, we still have Hunter to deal with," Dylan told his siblings, as he shook his head. "You alright, Da Vinci?" Dylan asked the painter, she merely nodded. Dante walked over to the window, Dolly got up to stop him.

"No, Dante. Don't look it'll make it worse, just stay calm," She said as her brother wanted to look for the body. She hugged the goth and said, "But, thanks for saving us bro. You have no idea how much you mean to me."

"Dolly, I'm just glad I could save someone I loved this time," Dante admitted while she continued her embrace. "Same here, bro," Dolly told him as Da Vinci and Dylan joined the hug. The embrace felt like it lasted forever, no one wanted to break it.

Downstairs, Dawkins waited on Pearl as he sat unnerved at the sounds upstairs. He had heard crashing and thrashing, then there was silence. The pups were whimpering, as they hid from whatever danger had infiltrated their home.

It was then door knob started shaking, and then it was pushed against violently. Pearl wasn't there yet, and he knew it. He gulped as he remembered Hunter sucking him and his siblings up, but this time would be different.

Dawkins wondered what time Doug and Delilah got home, he didn't think to ask. "Come on, open the door, I only wanna play," the voice of Hunter spoke and scared Dawkins out of his wits. His other siblings hadn't arrived downstairs yet, and he was worried.

"There's the missing car we've been looking for, and I think that was the one who took it," Dawkins heard Pearl say from outside, he sighed in relief as he felt he was saved. About that time the door burst open revealing Hunter's form. Dawkins gulped as he stood stiff.

He started whimpering at the sight, not knowing what to do. He was not a fighting pup by any definition. Yet, his whimper turned into a growl and he wondered what he was doing. This was an odd feeling.

"Back off!" The inventor growled at the intruder, who began approaching him. He noticed his four siblings had finally made their way to the stairs. He continued growling at Hunter who seemed unfazed.

Dolly got up on the railing and slid down, jumping at Hunter with teeth bared as Dylan ran to help. Hunter's attention was on Dawkins, when the skater he fell back from the momentum. Dolly had pushed Hunter back outside, but she wasn't done.

It was something in her, pushing Dolly to put her jaws around Hunter's neck. She wasn't sure what was driving it, could it be anger or maybe a primal desire. This was what Dylan wanted, but would he have followed through with it?

"Now, Dolly don't do anything rash. I can take it from here," the voice of Pearl registered in Dolly's mind. For a moment, she closed her eyes and let herself think. What would this solve? She asked herself.

She thought of her family, how it had once been whole. It was now empty once again, and yet she couldn't bring herself to do the deed. She wanted to tighten her jaws and taste the blood, she wanted to finish off a threat to her family.

"Come on, Dolly," Pearl told her again as Hunter seemed to be perplexed. She let go and got off him as officers came to arrest him. They took him away, and Dolly sat at the door crying at what had transpired.

Dylan came over and began comforting her. "They'll take care of the body of the other dog," Dylan told her as he hugged her. The two siblings stayed in the doorway for a moment, Dante and the others eventually joined the hug.

The family finally could enjoy a sense of peace, something they hadn't had in the entire week. The silence was only broken once their parents approached. "What has happened here?" Delilah was the first to speak, and awaited a response.

"Hunter came to kill us, we managed to get the police involved," Dylan admitted to his mother. "Did anyone get hurt?" Doug asked and Dylan shook his head. "We managed to keep ourselves safe," the pup didn't mention the dog, but he felt it didn't matter.

The family began cleaning up the house, everyone too exhausted to speak. Once they finished, they said their goodnights and went to bed. Going to sleep proved difficult, but eventually every pup gave way.

The morning came and Dolly awoke, Dizzy and Dee Dee beside her, She smiled as the sun shone through the window. The warmth hit her face, as she turned over and hopped out of bed.

She went downstairs, and watched as Dylan was trying clean and dodge pups at the same time. She had a mischievous grin on her face, as she approached. "Hey, Dylan. I think it's time for breakfast!" She yelled as a wave of pups swarmed them and in a moment they were in the kitchen.

Dylan almost wanted to yell, but couldn't help a chuckle as his family was starting to act full of life again. He didn't want it to change for the world, as he and sister filled food bowls. He sat down in his usual spot next to his sister.

"Everyone accounted for?" Delilah asked once everyone was seated. Looking around the table. "Everyone but Dante, where is he?" Dolly said looking for the goth and trying to figure it out.

"He told me he'd be a minute," Dawkins shared with them, the skater wondered why that could be. About that time, an older dalmatian pup walked down, a natural coat and all. Everyone at the table was surprised.

"Run out of fur dye again, dear?" Delilah asked the now naturally colored pup. "No, mom. I just felt like being my natural fur color today," Dante admitted with a goofy grin, the entire table was speechless at the sight.

Dolly went over and hugged her brother, who returned the embrace. "So, should we expect this change to be permanent?" The skater asked her brother, who seemed happier. "At least until I get bored," Dante joked which led to much laughter around the table.

The doorbell rang, and Dolly decided to get it. "Well, hello. Just the pup I wanted to see, how's it going?" Fergus said pulling Dolly into a hug. "So, I hear there was commotion last night?" The fox told Dolly, who nodded and smiled.

"Hunter tried to attack last night, but fortunately no one was hurt. Well, no one on our side anyway," Dolly told Fergus, the last part made him chuckle.

"At least you guys are alright, I wish I could've helped. Unfortunately, I was busy causing a ruckus on the other side of town," Fergus told the skater and pulled her in for a kiss.

"Ferg, you can be a pain, you know that?" Dolly asked and chuckled, she let the fox kiss her. She then turned around to notice her family watching the entire encounter. Dylan made a gagging noise, there was some aws, and finally her parents staring with smirks on their faces.

"They were behind me the whole time, weren't they?" Dolly asked, to no one in particular. "Yes, Doll. Yes, they were," Fergus told her bursting into laughter. Dolly rolled her eyes in annoyance at the fox, but couldn't help but laugh as well.


End file.
